The present invention relates to improvements in apparatus for collating and otherwise manipulating sheet material articles, particularly sections of newspapers or the like. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in so-called stuffing apparatus which can be used for assemblage of newspapers or other sheet material articles in openable pockets which are transported (normally along an endless path) past several feeding devices, for example, a series of bottom-feed hoppers each of which can discharge a different sheet material article into successive pockets.
In presently known newspaper stuffing apparatus, each pocket which contains an assembled newspaper is opened at a discharging station so that the newspaper can descend by gravity, e.g., onto a conveyor system which delivers it to a stacker or to another processing unit. It is also known to propel sheet material articles into successive pockets so that the introduction of each article into the respective pocket takes up an interval of time which is much shorter than the interval that elapses during introduction of an article under the action of gravity. Such mode of admitting sheet material articles into pockets is satisfactory as long as the speed of admission does not exceed a predetermined value. Once the predetermined speed is exceeded, the articles are likely to rebound and to assume positions which deviate from optimum positions. Rebounding of jackets presents serious problems in assembly of newspapers or the like because the sections of an assembled newspaper are not in accurate register with each other, e.g., the inner sections or inserts are likely to project beyond the jacket. This can interfere with further processing (particularly stacking) of multi-section newspapers, especially in automated printing plants.